<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Fellow Celiacs I'm writing today to relate two polar opposite types of experiences I am having with vendors of gluten free food - one seems to be rife with incompetence while the other is a delight to deal with. In both cases I initiated transactions through the Internet, using secure sessions (SSL protocol) and providing my charge account numbers for direct billing. I have dealt with both vendors before and have found that one offers consistently poor to very poor service while the other is consistently excellent. CASE NUMBER ONE - Dietary Specialties I deal with Dietary Specialties in order to obtain the BiAglut line of GF pasta, which seems more like real pasta than real pasta does, and their own brand of small GF pretzels. On one previous occasion I had used their website and never received any product. On another occasion their website began returning error messages before I was ever able to place an order. On investigation it seems their website runs on a Windows NT server. I am not responsible for their decision to use Microsoft software. On October 14th I bravely placed another order through their website. On October 15th I received an email message from an employee of Menudirect Corporation acknowledging my order. This was a step forward, the first time I had ever gotten them to acknowledge an order placed through the web. On October 19th I got another email from a different employee of Menudirect Corporation, also acknowledging my order, as if it had not already been acknowledged, and stating that the total for the order would be $54.00. On October 20th a charge for $64.00 was posted against my credit card by Menudirect Corporation. On the same date an additional charge of $14.30 was also posted against my account by Menudirect Corporation. The total amount is now $24.30 more than $54.00. Since then I have sent two email messages and made two telephone calls to Dietary Specialties with no resolution. I have sent them, as an attached file, a graphic image showing the incorrect charges to my account and they continue to do absolutely nothing about it. In addition, none of the food which I ordered 11 days ago has arrived. Today, October 25th, I called my bank to dispute the excess charges, since it has become obvious that the people at Menudirect Corporation have no intention of correcting THEIR mistakes. To the best of my knowledge they have not even shipped this order yet. I have had no communication from them indicating it has shipped. The reader is free to guess whether this company will ever see another dime of my money. --------------- CASE NUMBER TWO - Tastybite I deal with Tastybite to buy their delicious Indian and Thai meals, all of which are clearly gluten free because none of the ingredients contain wheat, oats, rye or barley. I use them for lunches at work. They never make my tummy hurt. I buy some plain rice from the nice couple who drive their mobile food dispensing vehicle (roach coach) to my place of employment, then I heat a Tastybite entree and pour it over the rice. These entrees are in sealed foil pouches, they require no refrigeration and are completely cooked. Many of their items (all of the ones I purchase) are strictly Vegan (contain nothing of animal origin). Yesterday, on October 24th, I placed an order for several dozen of their delicious meals. Early this morning, Monday the 25th, I received an email message from United Parcel Service indicating that they have a package which was shipped to me today. Just so you do not think I made a typographical error, I placed the order on Sunday and it was already shipped on Monday. I have not been charged for this order yet. In the past Tastybite has done such things as: Always shipping what I order Always shipping the next business day Sending me a free T-shirt, as promised, for taking an online survey I like their products, I like their service, I like the design of their website. --------------- I'd be happy to summarize, for the list, the experiences that other celiac families have had in ordering food for shipment to their homes. Take Care! Steve Rider -- Stephen A. Rider Author, Poet, Satirist, Queer [log in to unmask] http://www.slip.net/~srider